Electronics devices compliant with the Universal Plug and Play (trademark) Audio Visual (UPnP AV) standard and the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) guidelines are coming to use. The UPnP (trademark) AV standard specifies a set of protocols designed for replaying AV content and the like as a layer located above the UPnP (trademark) protocols, which allow an electronics device to join a network simply by being connected thereto. The DLNA guidelines are industry standards for providing interoperability to electronics devices and for enabling deployment of a home network of electronics devices. The DLNA guidelines have adopted the UPnP (trademark) protocols as protocols for establishing communications between the electronics devices.
The UPnP (trademark) standard defines a device and a control point at which the device is controlled. As types of a device, the UPnP (trademark) AV standard defines a media server (UPnP (trademark) AV Media Server) functioning to accumulate therein content and a media renderer (UPnP (trademark) AV Media Renderer) functioning to replay content. At a control point (UPnP (trademark) AV Control Point), a device connected to a network is discovered and the device is controlled. According to the UPnP (trademark) AV standard, such control is performed that a media renderer selected at a control point is caused to obtain over a network content stored in a media server selected at the control point and to replay the content.
According to protocols such as those specified in the UPnP (trademark) AV standard, even when a single device provides both a content transmitter function module corresponding to a media server for storing therein content designated by a control terminal, e.g., a control point, and a content receiver function module corresponding to a media renderer, the content will still be transmitted and received over a network in the same manner as when these functions are provided by separate physical entities.
However, resources could be consumed in a wasteful manner if the content is transferred over the network instead of being transferred internally in the single device comprising both the content transmitter function module and the content receiver function module. Furthermore, depending on the specifications of a content transmitting and receiving device comprising both the content transmitter function module and the content receiver function module, or depending on the resource utilizations thereby, the content transmitter function module might be incapable of transferring content.